Brian Scudamore Success Story
Image Credit: Wikipedia.com
When Brian Scudamore was a kid, he didn’t have bookshelves piled high with stuff or toys scattered around his room—and his 4-year-old daughter sure won’t either. The original name of the company, The Rubbish Boys, played off of the common British term for waste, but Scudamore wanted the company to be a household name in the United States, too. Once again, he used his power of persuasion, and the Idaho Department of Transportation gave him the number for free. Thus, the company name changed from Rubbish Boys to 1-800-Got-Junk.
Armed with a name, a message and a host of key players at the corporate office, Scudamore has found the junk business to be lucrative and enjoyable. “And no, our drivers were not allowed to keep that money.” He recounts story after story of “great finds” from homes and public places around North America.
With a clear vision and a little fun, Scudamore says there’s much more to come for 1-800-GOT-JUNK? When Mr. Scudamore started the business in 1989, originally to raise money for college, he called it the Rubbish Boys Disposal Service. As the business grew, Mr. Scudamore dropped out of school with only a year left to go, preferring to learn about business by running one rather than by studying. By the time he had five trucks in 1995, he was beginning to realize that the business could be much bigger than what they were doing in Vancouver.
“In my industry of junk removal, it’s always been a mom-and-pop, old-beat-up-truck kind of business,” says Mr. Scudamore. Although Mr. Scudamore has twice been a school dropout (he left high school as well as college before finishing), he continues to embrace learning.
“I grew up with reading difficulties, but the way I learn is I’ve created something I call my own MBA,” says Mr. Scudamore. Most of the mentors wouldn’t be big names but are people who specialize in some area of business.”
Another area of learning for Mr. Scudamore has been the Birthing of Giants at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), a program he attends every year along with the same group of entrepreneurs.
“It was a three-year program that we graduated from, but our class got together and extended it,” says Mr. Scudamore.
Scudamore’s company now generates more than $107,000,000 per year in revenue – all from an initial $700 investment!
Sources: Success.com, TheGlobeandMail.com
